La storia (TV series)

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La storia
Italian poster
GenreHistorical drama
Based onHistory: A Novel
by Elsa Morante
Written by
Directed byFrancesca Archibugi
Starring
Country of originItaly
Original languageItalian
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
ProducerRoberto Sessa
CinematographyLuca Bigazzi
Running time47–59 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkRai 1
Release8 January (2024-01-08) –
23 January 2024 (2024-01-23)

La storia is an Italian historical drama television series based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Elsa Morante. It began airing on Rai 1 on 8 January 2024.

Premise[edit]

A half-Jewish single mother deals with poverty and persecution in 1940s Rome.[1]

Cast[edit]

  • Jasmine Trinca as Ida Ramundo, a single mother of Jewish and Calabrian descent
  • Francesco Zenga as Antonio "Nino" Mancuso, Ida's teenage son
  • Mattia Basciani as Giuseppe "Useppe", Ida's younger son
    • Christian Liberti as young Useppe
  • Valerio Mastandrea as Remo, an innkeeper
  • Elio Germano as Giuseppe "Eppetondo" Cucchiarelli, a communist marble worker
  • Lorenzo Zurzolo as Carlo Vivaldi/Davide Segre, a Jewish student from Mantua
  • Asia Argento as Santina, a prostitute and tarot reader
  • Romana Maggiora Vergano as Patrizia
  • Giselda Volodi as Vilma
  • Anna Ferruzzo as Mrs. Di Segni
  • Enzo Casertano as Tommaso Marrocco
  • Lukas Zumbrock as Günther, a German soldier
  • Flora Gigliosetto as Carulì
  • Ludovica Ciaschetti as Mariolina

Episodes[edit]

No.TitleDurationOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"55 min8 January 2024 (2024-01-08)
In 1938, widowed teacher Ida Ramundo lives with her teenage son Nino in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Rome. That year, Benito Mussolini gives a speech condemning Judaism as the enemy of Italian fascism. Ida, whose mother was Jewish, is frightened by this. In 1940, a young German soldier follows Ida home and rapes her, and she later discovers that she is pregnant. While Nino is away at an Avanguardia Giovanile Fascista camp, Ida gives birth to her second child, a blue-eyed son named Giuseppe, nicknamed "Useppe".
2"Episode 2"47 min8 January 2024 (2024-01-08)
When Nino returns from camp, he is immediately enamored with his little brother. However, radicalized by his fascist beliefs, he later drops out of high school and abandons his family to join the Italian military in 1943. That July, San Lorenzo is bombed, and Ida and Useppe flee to Pietralata.
3"Episode 3"55 min15 January 2024 (2024-01-15)
In hiding, Ida and Useppe meet Giuseppe "Eppetondo" Cucchiarelli, a communist marble worker; the noisy Mille family; and Carlo Vivaldi, a mysterious student. Nino, now a partisan, recruits Eppetondo and Carlo into the Italian resistance against German occupation. At the Tiburtina station, Ida is shocked to see a train packed with Jews from the ghetto.
4"Episode 4"53 min15 January 2024 (2024-01-15)
Nino confesses to Useppe that he found the love of his life, a girl from the countryside named Mariolina. As the German soldiers continue to target partisans, the Mille family leaves the shelter for Naples. Eppetondo is captured by the Nazis and tortured, but does not reveal the refuge, causing the Nazis to execute him.
5"Episode 5"58 min22 January 2024 (2024-01-22)
6"Episode 6"51 min22 January 2024 (2024-01-22)
7"Episode 7"55 min23 January 2024 (2024-01-23)
8"Episode 8"59 min23 January 2024 (2024-01-23)

Production[edit]

Principal photography began in June 2022.[2] The series was largely shot in Rome.[3] Filming also briefly took place in Naples and Anagni.[4][5]

Release[edit]

The first two episodes of the series premiered at the Rome Film Festival on 20 October 2023.[6] The first two episodes aired on Rai 1 two months later, on 8 January 2024, and were watched by 4.5 million viewers.[7]

Reception[edit]

Mattia Carzaniga of Rolling Stone Italia commended the series, particularly the performance of Jasmine Trinca, which he referred to as "perhaps her most beautiful and certainly most passionate."[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (14 October 2022). "RAI Fiction Event Series 'La Storia,' Unveiled by Beta at Rome MIA Market, Will Look at Fascism Through a Female Prism". Variety. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  2. ^ Pasquini, Mattia (30 June 2022). "La storia, primo ciak per la serie di Francesca Archibugi tratta da Elsa Morante". Ciak Magazine (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (20 October 2023). "'La Storia,' Fascist-Era Feminist Series, Scores Sales Ahead of Rome Fest Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  4. ^ Scarpa, Vittoria (1 July 2022). "Francesca Archibugi is shooting the series La Storia, based on the novel by Elsa Morante". Cineuropa. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  5. ^ Visca, Antonio (17 July 2022). "La Rai sceglie una città ciociara per le riprese de "La Storia"". FrosinoneToday (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  6. ^ "PROGRAMME (PDF) ROME FILM FEST 2023" (pdf). Rome Film Festival. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. ^ Fumarola, Silvia (9 January 2024). "'La Storia', il successo della serie che ci ricorda chi eravamo vista da quasi 4,5 milioni di spettatori". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  8. ^ Carzaniga, Mattia (9 January 2024). "'La Storia': la recensione della serie di Francesca Archibugi con Jasmine Trinca | Rolling Stone Italia". Rolling Stone Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2024.

External links[edit]